CiNet Monthly Seminar

October 29, 2020
14:00-16:00
(On-line for CiNet members only)

“Decoding perception of others’ social interaction in the human brain”

Shuguang Kuai
Professor
Assistant dean for academic affairs
The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science
East China Normal University
Host : Hiroshi Ban (Ikegaya G)

Abstract:
As social animals, recognizing the social interactions of others is important to our lives. Previous research has found that humans use many cues to judge the social interactions of others. However, most studies only discuss these cues at the conceptual level while few studies investigate them quantitatively. In this study, we generated a social interaction scene using a virtual reality experimental platform and manipulated the spatial distance, facing orientation, and posture of the virtual humans in the virtual scene. In addition, we utilized fMRI to record the human brain responses when they judge the social interaction of others. We conducted pattern analysis of brain responses in the region of interests and found that early visual cortex decoded spatial distance information, while the extrastriate body area (EBA) and the fusiform face area (FFA) decoded the facing orientation of virtual human, and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) decoded both spatial distance and facing orientation, representing the human perception of others’ social interaction. The results reveal how our brain represents cues and integrates them to form the perception of social interactions.